12/30/10

White (in between Christmas and) New Year

Merry Late Christmas!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas!! We had so much fun with our family.  Allison's fam went to Lubbock (since Baby McKenna is coming like next week!!) and we hung out with our fam in colleyville and mckinney.  The kids got tons of fun stuff (i mean, can we say toy story barbie)
After christmas, Jeff went back to work and we headed up to ski.  It has been pretty snowy here so we have been trying out some snow men techniques and a few snowy skiing outings.
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cousin lins helping us build while heather took amazing photos
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not everyone was loving their lives...
but one snowman turned out...
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hope yall are having a great holiday season and we will be back with more stuff for the shop and new years info!

12/23/10

random...

McKenna gets here in 11 days!!! Holy cow! I can't believe it. I am scheduled for a c-section (due to screws in my pelvis) on the 3rd and we just can't wait to meet her! It has been pretty busy and exciting around here trying to get everything ready for Christmas and baby McKenna.
It finally felt like December today, the weather has been so crazy lately. 
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One day last week we went to see Christmas lights with our friends Carrie, Shea and Molly. It was so cold we had to bundle up and the next day it was so warm Ella played outside all day in her open toed high heels. You never know what you are gonna get here in lubbock...
I have been working on a few homemade Christmas gifts this year, one that has taken me so long it actually won't be ready for Christmas. I'm bummed about that but oh well. Do y'all remember this that I made for Ella when we went to see the Dora Live show? Well I decided that all her cousins and besties (adalyn, lillian, leighton, elizabeth, kinley, avery, sassy and ben) should have a matching one. Ben's of course will be Diego:)
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This is my Dora outfit assembly line. Making 8 Dora outfits has taken more time than I expected but it has been so fun! I have everything cut out and the backpack pieces are sewed and pressed so putting it all together is my next big step. I ordered shorts from old navy that came in yesterday so I need to dye them orange. I am so excited to give everyone their very own Dora outfit. Hopefully they will love it as much as Ella loves hers! I am making her a new one because she has grown out of her old one.
And how could Christmas go by without some circular scarves?! I'm still not anywhere close to the talent that Kristen has with these scarves but I have definitely gotten better.
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Here are a few that I have made for Christmas gifts. 
I hope everyone is having fun getting things ready for Christmas. My family is coming tomorrow and I am SO excited!!! I will be back with more random stuff later:)

12/20/10

Luminary Love

Last night, after we went home for my dad's birthday and had just gotten back in town, we had an impromptu luminating party.  I have never made luminaries before, but it was so much fun!  all the neighbors came over to our house for pre-luminary wine, cheese and crackers and then we went across the street to make them.  we just used paper bags, sand and little candles and took them all down our street and out to the main road.  it was so so fun and so easy to do.
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the kids loved helping and we are so lucky to have sweet neighbors who have kids or just love kids
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sassy and ben and avery were beside themselves.  they thought this was the best night of their lives.
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afterwards we drove around to light them and we sung horribly off key and wayyyy too loud christmas carols.
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then we had our post luminating meal-pizza and we partied like it was 2010 for a few more days...
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and everyone passed out afterwards...
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a few days ago we also went with our residency friends, Julie and Katelyn and their family to see a christmas light display.  it was amazing.  the lights were amazing and we rode on a train, covered in blankets, loving our lives.
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(ben looks a little bored here-this is merely a facade.  the kid could not stop oohing and ahhing over it all)
hope you guys are having a fun pre-christmas week.  I know it is so crazy and if you feel anything like I do, you are running around like a chicken with your head cut off getting last minute presents, decor and running to the post office during the worst hours of the day while your kids pull off all the cards in the card display and lay on the ground...ok, maybe thats just me.... scarfing is crazy but I am trying to get everyone their scarf before christmas!! i hope that happens and you are all able to exchange them without any glitches. (There have been some orders that are lost or stolen, so if you have not gotten your scarf, please let me know and I will try to get you a new one asap.  Thank you SO MUCH again, guys.)

12/17/10

Thank you for wearing (and buying) the scarves!

Scarfing has kinda been the coolest thing of my year. I cant get over it.  It is just amazing that you guys are so incredible and buying them for yourself and your friends-it is just so unbelievable.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Early on, when I first started selling them, Lindsay's mom, Carol (and my mom and allison's mom's best friend), emailed me about making them for all of her 6 best friends.  They all exchange gifts and she wanted the scarves to be her gift.  She was so sweet and I teared up just getting the email.  She has always been so supportive and kind throughout my whole life and I am just so thankful for her, and lindsay and their family.  Lindsay and Allison each made two and I made two so she could have some from all of us.
The mom's exchanged their gifts and (luckily) they all loved them!! I am so honored to be the gift maker for such cute and fun moms!!
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and then one with my mom (changing out the photographer, you know...)
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arent they so cute!! Thank you ladies for all of your support OUR WHOLE LIVES! we love you so much!
and then Lindsay, my first scarf orderer, ordered a few more for her mom and her mother in law and friends-she is, like, keeping me in business!  and her mom is so cute and sent me pics of them in the scarves! I cant get over it!  so so fantastic-
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I love how professional they look in front of their house with their hands by their sides- so classy ladies!! I JUST  LOVE IT!
Thanks again for everyone who ordered (and send me pics if you get a chance!!).  Love making the scarves and just the fact that someone wants to wear them just blows my mind.  love it. happy friday, guys.  

12/16/10

pj day at school

Yesterday was Ella's last day of school until January. It's crazy to think that when she goes back she will be a big sister! She got to wear her pjs to school and she was loving it. I made her a Christmas shirt to go with her pj pants. I used freezer paper to make it and I totally copied the design from Smitten & Company. She makes the cutest shirts and we ordered some from her last Christmas but I didn't get on the ball in time this year so I just made my own. 
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It really was so easy and fast to make and Ella looked so cute and Christmasy for pj day!
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Ella was very excited about giving her teacher a Christmas gift. I LOVE Ella's teacher. She really is the best teacher and Ella just adores her. I wanted to get her something I knew she would really like. Someone told me that the teachers all filled out a form at the beginning of the year that said what their favorite things were. I asked the director if I could get a copy of Ella's teacher's form and I fell in love with her teacher even more! She speaks my language for sure. Her fav snacks are all some of my fav too and her favorite store is Hobby Lobby! So I put together a little gift basket with a Hobby Lobby gift card and a few of her favorite goodies. 
Speaking of goodies, have you guys ever made the pretzel rolo treats? I'm not sure if that is what they are called but I have already made them 3 different times in the last two weeks. They are so easy and the perfect little treat to take to a Christmas party.
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All you do is line a baking sheet with pretzels then place a rolo in the center of each pretzel. Put them in oven at 350 for a couple of minutes to get the rolo soft. Then press down a nut (or m&m for non nut lovers) in the middle of the rolo. It really is that easy.

12/15/10

cuddle bugs

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Ill be back with more, but this was a couple of days ago and I thought I would share.  Sass fell asleep on Avery while cuddling.  it was hilarious; Im not totally sure if she was acting or if it was real, but she made us all believe it was.  im taking her to the next sleep commercial for sure...

12/14/10

full house

So it has been kinda crazy round here. Which is my excuse for the lack of posts lately. I have a couple of crafty things I will finish up and post later this week:)
We have recently moved. Our house is still for sale but we are not living in it right now. It's a crazy story, here it goes...
Our good friends Jordan and Brittany bought a fantastic house this last summer and began flipping it. We have known that Bob and I will be moving somewhere for residency this coming May so we thought it might be a good idea to put our house on the market early in case it took a while to sell. Well good thing we got started early cause we have had no luck on selling the house and are hoping for our luck to change in the next few months. Anyways...when Jordan and Brittany first bought the new house they had a wonderful idea. It is a pretty good sized house (6 bedroom, 7 bath) so they told us that if our house just so happened to sell before we were ready to move for residency then we could move in with them in the new house. It's so big that we could have our own little wing. Of course I became giddy about the thought of us all living under one roof and couldn't wait for our house to sell. Well months went by and our house was still on the market. Jordan and Brittany finished all the remodeling this last month and they moved in. I couldn't take it. I was so sad that we weren't living in the house with them like we thought we would have been. So last week we decided to just move in anyway! We left most our furniture in our house to help sell it. Bob, Ella and I are now living in the east wing of the new house and Jordan and Brittany are in the west wing. The fun doesn't stop there though! Our friend Chris lives upstairs! Party house! Ella is in heaven. She is living with some of her favorite people and just runs around the house so happy all day. It has been such a blessing to have this opportunity and it will make our last few months in Lubbock that much more special. It is so great knowing that whenever a realtor calls to show our house I don't have to start throwing toys in closets to get it clean, and with McKenna getting here in the next couple of weeks (ahhh!) it will be so nice having people around:) Then in March Brittany will have her baby! Yep, she is pregnant too! So for a couple of months we will have two newborns and a toddler in the house. How fun (and crazy) is that gonna be! I love it! 
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We call the house "Casa Grande."  We had some family/roomie pics taken yesterday and they just make me smile (even though I'm so puffy and prego!) 
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Look how fun our fireplace is now!

12/9/10

Christmas Tree Farm (and a few decorations)

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On Tuesday we went to the Christmas tree farm in Tyler to get our tree.  I have never been to a place where you get to cut down your own tree- we have only done the nursery where its already cut.  This was a whole new experience and, as a dorky holiday lover, it was everything we dreamed of.
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we all walked around for a while to find the one we wanted to get.  Since our house is pretty small, we decided on smaller sized tree (I know, this is so boring, but the farm is really so cool!)
Then, they gave Jeff the saw and he chopped it down!! we are so Paul Bunyan over here.
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Then we got to go on a little hayride with our tree to get it all wrapped up.
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Then we went home and decorated with our dorky yarn ornaments.  They are all just infatuated with the tree and I can not keep them away from the ornaments.  I want to get candy canes, but I feel like they will eat them when we all go to sleep...
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My mom got me this fantastic garland and I copied the trees flat out from Jennifer's shower by Aimee. I just love them.
I have a few more things to put up, but I am just so excited for the holidays decor that is starting throughout my house!

12/7/10

progressive minute to win it dinner

Two summers ago my friend Amy put together Thursday night dinners. There is a big group of people that meets up every Thursday for dinner and Amy gets it all organized and tells each person what to bring. Its always a different food theme and always at a different house each week. In the summer time it is a every week thing but once the school year starts it becomes a once a month thing. This last week we had our Thursday night dinner on Sunday and it was a Christmas party. But not just any ordinary Christmas dinner, Amy did it up right. She put together a progressive minute to win it white elephant gift Christmas dinner. It was SO fun! 
We went to four different houses over the night and each house had a different dish to eat and a minute to win it game for everyone to play. The last house was dessert and white elephant gift exchange. "Minute to win it" is a game where you have one minute to complete a crazy activity. 
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The first house we had drinks, chips and dip, and bacon wrapped jalapenos. The game was keeping three balloons in the air for 1 minute. It is way harder than it sounds. No one actually ever made it for the entire minute.
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At the second house we all enjoyed some taco soup and laughed so hard as we watched everyone play the game two at a time. 7 cups were lined up on the edge of a table in front of you. You had to blow up a balloon and then use the air from the balloon to push each cup off the table. You could blow up the balloon as many times as you needed to. You just wanted to get your cups off the table before the person next to you. 
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The third house was chicken enchiladas and two minute to win it games. These two games were Ella's favorite for sure. The first one was so funny to watch. Everyone took an oreo and twisted off the top. You then stuck the icing side down on your forehead. You had a minute to wiggle the cookie down into your mouth using no hands. I could never get my cookie past my eye brows! 
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The next game was a fun one for Ella to participate in too. Each person had a box of kleenex in front of them. They had 1 minute to pull every kleenex out of the box using only one hand. Ella loved playing in the mess that this game created:)
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It was such a fun night that ended with a great white elephant exchange. Ella loved helping everyone open their presents. The favorite gift of the night was probably the shake weight:)

12/6/10

Amazing Blog and a Few Giveaways

I totally forgot to tell you guys-my friend Beth blogs over at thinkliz. and she is having 12 days of giveaways!  isnt that incredible!!  they are all etsy shops and we are so honored to be a part.  head on over to thinkliz and maybe you will be the lucky winner...http://thinkliz.com/

Yarn Ornaments

OK. Are y'all ready for the easiest tutorial ever??? I actually don't have pics of the making it part, but it really is the easiest Christmas decor idea.
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you just get Styrofoam balls from hob lob and then wrap them with whatever yarn colors you want!  I made a loop and pinned that into the top at the beginning and then wrapped all around it.  I pinned the last strand but I never used any glue or very many pins at all (and i realize that these are not Christmas colors, or really all that appealing of colors, but I got excited and used what I had around.  and i love a muted color.)  ill be back with more christmasy colors and a thicker yarn option.  I also want to try it with the Styrofoam trees.  At the shower, Aimee made the ones like you are my fave.  LOVED them.  Definitely adding them to my christmas decor, too.

Weekend Run Down

(was the post before last a weekend one too??? We have got to get our act together.  sorry guys..)
Let me just start off by saying thank yall for the birthday wishes!! Wasn't that the sweetest post??? Thanks Al.  Loved it.  and Linds did one too and it was so so sweet.  Could not ask for better friends (on the web and in real life).  
Birthday was so so great.  Jeff got me Glee for the Wii.  I havent actually had a chance to use it because sassy and aves have been hogging the mic the whole time its on.  It is so much fun.  It is Glee Karaoke, (which we basically do in the car everyday) and it has the best songs. Sass cracks me up.  Sings every word at the top of her lungs.
After a lot of singing I got the next best gift of my life- allison dry iced Thai Pepper and the fiesta dip that changed my world, and sent them to me.  kinda the best idea ever.
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it may not look like heaven, but, trust me, it is.  Too bad gandy's is a west texas brand and that Thai Pepper isnt in every city in the contiguous US.
Then Linds made me this fantastic video of us in our middle school years when we stole her moms camera and used it to make all kinds of skits into movies.  Yes, guys.  It is what you are thinking.  The next best thing to a music video to "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips.  It was hilarious.  And so fun to see her, allison and i, and all of our friends, family and old neighbors.  I will really treasure it forever.
Then this weekend I got to help some amazing ladies give jennifer a baby shower.  The shower was a "cozy" shower and it was so creative.  I am blown away with these girls' creativity and wish I had pics to show yall.  They made soup, we screen printed scarves for the gifts; aimee (and kat) made the cutest banner, cupcake toppers, and invitations.  She is doing our christmas cards too.  The girl is unreal.  She is amazing at all invitations and has an etsy shop. And her friend Kat really cant be beat, either. (I was no help.   I forgot everything I was supposed to bring and was late everytime we were supposed to meet up.  Allison should have said that about me..."cant get anywhere on time to save her life and is crazy reckless with her hair, to the point of making it fall out".  that probably describes me most accurately). I met so many cool people (brandy and I actually went to pre school together and reunited at jenn's house.  how crazy is that??!!) and got to catch up with so many old friends.  It was such a fun night.
Before I left for the weekend, I made jennifer a blanket for her baby, Isla Grace, (ie. the Grace Blanket) and put some other versions of it in the shop.  I gave some to both my newest cousins too, so these are actually pics of their blankets (and of course i forgot to take pics of Isla's).  It is just a big granny square.  Nothing too exciting, but its super fun to mess with the colors.  Jennifer's is like the pink one, except instead of pink it is a muted teal/green.
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After that i met my fam for lunch at chipotle and then some family christmas card pics.
I dont know if you guys have a mom like mine, but if you do, christmas card picture taking is an event in and of itself.  she comes at it so nonchalantly and then it just always takes a turn for the crazy, no matter what. after saying all of that, it really wasnt too bad this year, but here are some of our out takes...
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kinda crazy...
then, (is this the longest post ever???) we had some sheet cake and the kids helped me blow out the candles...
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and then we had to sing happy birthday to sassy like 7 more times.
and we ate. a ton. (except jeff.  clearly depicted with the hand over mouth).
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all of that to say, thanks guys, for a fantastic birthday weekend.  So much fun.
And I have still been scarfing A LOT.  Thank you guys so much for all of your orders!! I am just so humbled and thankful for every email and order.  I know that sounds so cheesy, but it is just so neat when someone wants to wear what you made.   Even the girls at neiman's the other day told me they loved it-separately.  I could have died.
I am working as fast as I can and am trying to do at least three a day, so if you ordered one, I promise I am working on it.  There are a few more designs and colors and a few more yarn projects that I will be back with ASAP....
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